The Unearthed Arcana’s Arcane Archer playtest takes a big step in the right direction towards fixing the beleaguered subclass.
Arcane Archers are one of the few subclasses from 5E that definitely needed an upgrade. Before the edition finished releasing, they were getting left behind by other classes. After the switch to 5.5E, they really felt the “lack of subclass-critical resource.” Which was always the biggest drawback to the Fighter subclass. But in the latest Unearthed Arcana, a playtest version of the arcane Archer makes a few big strides towards being something that people might actually want to play!
Arcane Archer Playtest – Putting The Arcane Back Into Archer
Arcane Archers, as a character class option, have been around since 3rd Edition. They were one of the first “prestige classes” introduced by Wizards of the Coast in the original 3.0 Player’s Handbook. To be one, you had to be both a Fighter and at least a 1st level Wizard (ish).
But as a D&D concept, they’ve been around since at least the 1983 D&D cartoon, which featured Hank the Ranger and his magical energy bow that never ran out of ammunition and could fire special magical arrows. And that, in a nutshell, is what the Arcane Archer was meant to do in 5th Edition. But it ran into a problem.
That problem was scarcity. Arcane Archers, for the majority of their adventuring careers, could shoot magical arrows 2 times per Short Rest. That was basically it until you hit level 15. There was always the intention that your Arcane Archer powers would get stronger over the course of your adventuring career, but that never actually materialized.
A Much Needed Update
In the new playtest, Arcane Archer gets a much needed update. Starting with a spate of level 3 features that do a ton of work. At the end of the day though, the most important update is to Arcane Shot. This feature now grants you your Intelligence modifier in Arcane Shots, and that’s a definite improvement.
It means that if you increase your Intelligence, you can at least scale up your power usage. I think you’ll still lag behind Battlemaster in terms of uses of your special subclass features. That said, it’s still a big step in the right direction. Also, the Arcane Shots have been tweaked, but more on that later.
The other level 3 option is just a flavor ribbon: Arcane Archer Lore gets you either Druidcraft or Prestidigitation and proficiency in Arcana and Nature (but not expertise).
Hope You Like Arcane Shot
The Arcane Archer is still very much a two trick pony. At higher levels, almost everything you’ll get revolves around increasing the power of your Arcane Shot. And to be fair, starting at 7th level you’ll get Ever Ready Shot, a feature which ensures you have at least one use of Arcane Shot any time you roll initiative. This used to be the 15th level feature, and so it moving to 7 is another huge win for the Arcane Archer.
You also get the only other non Arcane Shot option at level 7, Curving Shot. This lets you make a Bonus Action attack whenever you miss a target with a ranged weapon attack. Your Bonus Action attack targets a different target with the same weapon. Which is okay, and a little weirdly focused on missing, but still not bad when it comes up.
But every other feature, at levels 10, 15, and 18, is just an incremental improvement to your Arcane Shot die, taking it from a d6 to a d8, d10, and d12 respectively. And you get one extra Arcane Shot option at levels 7, 10, 15, and 18. So we should probably talk about what those actually do.
Shots Shots Shots Shots Shots Shots (Everybody)
There are eight different Arcane Shot options all in all. A few have been nerfed, a few have been buffed. Let’s take a look at the options:
- Banishing Shot – much like before, Banishing Shot makes a creature save or be banished and Incapacitated until the end of its next turn. Very handy if you want someone to effectively lose their turn. Now deals damage on initial hit. One of three buffs.
- Beguiling Shot – creatures hit by this shot take two arcane shot dice of extra damage and have to save or are charmed until the start of your next turn. Basically the same as before, but less overall damage.
- Bursting Shot – your target and every creature within 10 feet takes 2 arcane shot dice of extra damage just for playing, unchanged from before.
- Enfeebling Shot – your target takes 2 arcane shot dice of extra necrotic damage and is Poisoned until the end of its next turn. While poisoned, subtract an arcane shot die from the total damage of any attack that creature makes – massive nerf from straight up halving the damage the target does.
- Grasping Shot – another nerfed option; grasping shot’s targets are now Restrained for a turn and take only 1 arcane shot die of extra damage.
- Piercing Shot – another buff, piercing shot makes your ranged attack into a 30-foot long, 1-foot wide line that can pass through anything. Whatever it hits takes normal damage plus 2 arcane shot dice extra piercing the creature fail its save.
- Seeking Shot – another buff, Seeking Shot turns your attack roll into a saving throw as long as your target is within long range. If they fail, they’re hit and take 2 arcane shot dice extra damage.
- Shadow Shot – this blinding shot now does half the damage it used to do, but is otherwise the same.
Arcane Archer Going In The Right Direction
That’s the Arcane Archer. It’s not bad – several steps in the right direction. I’m not sure what I’d do exactly to improve it. I feel like it needs more of an identity beyond just Arcane Shot. Even Battlemasters get more than just Maneuvers. But WotC wants to know what you think – and you can let them know by filling out the survey at the link below! Survey closes soon, so hurry and tell them.
I still miss the ability to permanently create magical energy arrows from 3.x Edition D&D!
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